News Archive

The following are links to news items and events of significance from the past:

FSP Awarded Grant For Snowshoes

FSP was recently awarded a grant from Healthy Casco Bay to purchase snowshoes for use by our students. A big thank you to James Grumbach, Head of School, for writing the grant, and to Nicole Borrasso, FSP 3-4 teacher and Outing Club leader, for researching and selecting the snowshoes. We love getting our students outdoors in all kinds of weather!

3-4 Class Keeps Casco Bay Clean

On Wednesday October 26th, third and fourth graders from Friends School of Portland, accompanied by representatives from the Town of Falmouth, stenciled storm drains in the neighborhood surrounding Mackworth Island. Video Their purpose was to spread the message, “Do not dump/Drains to Casco Bay,” in order to remind neighbors to keep pollution out of our coastal waters. Rainwater runoff — and the pollutants it carries — is the number one source of water pollution to lakes, rivers, and coastal waters, resulting in slime-covered coves, fish kills, and prolonged red tides. Runoff from rain and snow melt can carry oil, litter, leaves, grass clippings, pesticides, and sediments from construction sites into storm drains, and in turn, into local bodies of water. Residents often don’t realize that dumping engine oil, paint, cigarette butts, or pet waste into storm drains results in water pollution that could affect their drinking water supply, fishing holes, or swimming beaches.The stenciling kits used by the students were on loan from Friends of Casco Bay, as part of its efforts to educate the community about the effects of stormwater pollution.

Grant For Habitat Improvement

USM's Casco Bay Estuary Partnership awarded FSP $3350, allowing students at Friends School of Portland to investigate the effects of invasive species on Mackworth Island and to help restore one small piece of it.

Beginning this past fall, Jamien Jacobs, Middle School Science Teacher, led Friends School 5th and 6th graders in inventorying native and invasive species on a 50mx50m plot on the island, studying the role of invasives on ecological communities, then manually removing invasive plant species (primarily bittersweet and barberry). Next spring, the students will replant the area with native species, and help develop a 10-year plan of methodical habitat improvement on the island in order to restore hundreds of square meters of land. In addition, they will create a model to educate, inspire, and motivate other Casco Bay Watershed schools and community groups to take action toward invasive species removal and habitat restoration in their own neighborhoods.

Science Contest Winners

Grade 5-6 science students were runners up in the Vital Signs Create and Share Project Contest!

They created a public service announcement to educate the public about the importance of not making wreaths using invasive bittersweet, and click here to hear their PSA.

Peace Walk

In an effort to support and bring awareness to International Peace Day, Friends School of Portland, a preschool- 8th grade Quaker School, and Clark Insurance sponsored "Portland Walks for Peace."

Four eighth grade students at Friends School, Madeline Curtis, Tristram Howard, Mel McClure-Chute, and Annie Gott, devised the idea for Portland Walks for Peace.

"When we watched a video on the history of International Peace Day, we realized as a group that nothing to bring the whole community together for this great cause was happening. We wanted to change that," says Gott.

Part of the efforts of the walk were to raise money for Peace One Day, an organization that uses Peace Day as a platform to help provide relief to poor and war-torn countries. These places would otherwise be unreachable and dangerous to approach without the cease-fire that controlling rebel groups agree to on that one day.

5 Senses Tour & Kindergarten

See the poems created by the 1st-2nd grade at Slide Show

Ten prospective families joined our kindergarten teachers, current parents, and eight 1st graders who gave the 5 Senses Tour of Mackworth Island on Saturday May 21st as part of the Kindergarten Open House.

5th Annual Auction & Brunch

Last year's event, which took place on Saturday, March 26, was as much fun-raising as it was fund-raising. We would like to thank everyone who participated by donating, bidding, and helping with logistics. We raised close to $20,000 for financial aid!

6th Annual Auction & Brunch scheduled for Saturday, March 31, 2012

Inquiry - Reflection - ART!

Nine visiting artist came to FSP to conduct workshops around social justice themes in the week following Martin Luther King, Jr Day.  Artists included Kate Cox, sculptor & printmaker; Jones Franzel, audio-documetarian; David LaGraffe, improv; Andrew Martel, songwriter; Robert Shetterly, painter;  Martin Steingesser, poet; Micheal Wingfield, Afro-Caribbean drummer;  Martha Winn, quilter; and Henry Wolyniec, cartoonist.  Slideshow>>

Race to Nowhere

A packed house of over 400 parents, students, & educators viewed Race to Nowhere sponsored by FSP at Falmouth High School on January 25,2011.  See this NYT article for more information about the film.

Quimby Grant Supports Parenting for Peace

FSP received a $9000 grant from the Quimby Family Foundation to support the Parenting for Peace speaker series.  To learn more about P4P click here To learn more about the Quimby Family Foundation click here

Portland Press Herald

Letter to the editor by Annarosa Whitman, FSP 8th grader

Portland Press Herald Interviews FSP Students

"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"

Portland Press Herald Article Link

Learning the Quaker Way: The school teaches tolerance and respect and promotes the search for truth in all subjects.  By Kelley Bouchard, Staff Writer, 1/7/09

Letter to the Editor

Are Friends schools "elite and private?" By James Grumbach, Head of School, 12/12/08

Quaker Education Panel

In January 2008, the school hosted a panel of 6 Maine residents who had attended Quaker Schools:

Tom Chappell, founder of Tom's of Maine, Moses Brown School, RI

Perry Clark, probate attorney, Friends Academy, NY

Christine Fletcher, nursing student and former Quaker school educator, Westtown School, PA

Peter Korn, Executive Director for the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Germantown Friends School. PA

Sarah Standiford, Executive Director of the both the Maine Women's Lobby and Policy Center, Friends School of Baltimore, MD

Barbara Vickery, Director of Conservation Programs for the Maine Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, George School, PA

Here is a link to a video of the opening nine minutes YouTube Online Video